Month: September 2026

Thoughts On Preaching by J. W. Alexander

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This book for preachers follows its own track. This isn’t a worked-out treatise, but really an assembled collection. That doesn’t detract from its impact, but it is organized a bit differently than many such books. I don’t know about you, but I am often up for a change of pace. And that is what we have here even if it is, as so many of the best books on preaching, from another time. I really feel the first section should have been the last as what follows that section is the more natural beginning of a book that would hook you.

The first section of around 100 pages is 166 almost paragraphs. None of them are particularly long and they seem to be things he jotted down over the course of years of preaching. It’s almost like following a journey where a man is growing and learning through years of practice. Considering the family that he is from, it was surprising that he occasionally warned of being too scholarly or bookish. Again, there were just many nuggets that simply does not usually show up in a book of this nature.

The next section is a collection of longer letters to young ministers. These thoughts are more developed, a bit longer, and very powerful. From there, we go into a section called the studies and discipline of the preacher, which is about a 20-page section, that really gives a lot of things to think about. I’m not sure I agree with everything he said, but it is worth considering. The next section is on the matter of preaching was also totally up-to-date and wonderful. His section on expository preaching was a bit rigid, but he makes a strong case. The final two sections before an appended article really give us a history of great preaching. I didn’t think I would get anything out of the French pulpit section, but it was very interesting. That additional article is on how Jesus Christ is the perfect example for any minister.

This is another worthy addition to the required reading list for preachers. As usual, Banner has given us a beautiful volume. I highly recommend this one. 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Kingdom Apprenticeship by Keas Keasler

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I’ve been looking for a book just like this one. Dallas Willard is a writer who has impacted me in profound ways over the last few years. Though he has stretched me and made me wonder how I’d missed a few things, sometimes he strained my brain. I estimate that I was understanding him at about an 80% clip. That 80% changed my life, but I lamented the other 20%. Enter this book and I upped my percentage. I may still not be at 100%, but what a joy I found in the progress this book afforded me.

Just look at the picture on the cover. If that system worked for Mr. Willard, it only proves how far my capacity would be below his! (by the way my only criticisms of this book are that this cover should have been a picture inside the book and the fact that this wonderful book deserved being a nice hardcover). Again, I needed this book. Mr. Keasler did a fantastic job and I kind feel I owe a debt of gratitude to him.

The approach to exploring Willard was brilliant, comprehensive, and ideal. Now that I’ve seen the author’s approach I’m convinced there could be no way to exceed it. Chapter 2 is an effective biographical angle. It shows the uniqueness of Willard and how he found no compulsion to fit into any standard box. It wasn’t, though, a disagreeable persona, but just a man gifted to be a creative independent thinker. I came to understand how Willard’s philosophical background affected him and how his mentor was Edmund Husserl. I loved how the author also incorporated all of Willard’s recoded lectures and sermons to fully flesh out his portrait. He calls Willard’s 5 major books ( I’ve read and loved each of them) the pentalogy. Clearly, they carry the most weight.

From there it’s a theological treat. He constructs Willard’s thinking and then compares it to the most common Christian positions. It was these chapters that most enlightened me. It’s clear to me that Willard is orthodox, but his niche is reminding us of things Christ emphasized that we’ve somehow laid aside or at least obscured.

I guess every subject couldn’t be answered. I still don’t know which prophetic camp to put Willard in. I don’t blame the author for that omission, though, because I’m not sure Willard had a clear one.

If you’ve been blessed by Willard, you will love this book. If you’ve loved Willard but had a few struggles in understanding him fully, you will love it even more.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

2 Kings (PTW) by John Woodhouse

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Coming to this book without having used his 1 Kings or his volumes on Samuel, I came with less expectations than many other readers. I was impressed before I even finished the short Introduction. His ability to connect 2 Kings’ value to our day, his clear vision of the faithfulness of God’s Word, and the way he gallantly summarized the main introductory issues of the book in a few short paragraphs won me over in mere minutes. Here’s another thing I came to quickly see about this author – he is an incredibly well-read man. His Endnotes showed the depth he brings to bear in this work. As a case in point, look at his second end note.

As you keep working through the book, what you immediately notice is how nice the sermons are and how it is those Endnotes that provide you so much of what you get in a regular commentary. You will be making a serious mistake if you don’t keep a separate bookmark at the back to check those notes out.

The first sermon on “A Troubled World” really covers some more introductory ideas because it really links what, perhaps, should never have been separated – the books of 1 & 2 Kings. This idea of a troubled world, again, is one of his main focuses for modern application.

Now I just love Elijah and Elisha. Go read “Following Elijah” to see what a jewel we have here. His sermon on 2 Kings 2:16-18 using the Resurrection of Christ to open the passage was ingenious. I need not describe any other individual sermons because this is a consistently outstanding volume. 

These sermons are meaty. Don’t come here looking for catchy outlines because that is not at all what’s going on here. These are the kind of sermons that really wrestle with the text. You know the kind that gives you great help and then sets you free to do your own sermons. I’m convinced this book has been aimed at preachers. Look at the last index, the Index of Sermon Illustrations, if you have any doubts.

Doing this review is going to cost me some money! Now I’m going to go back and buy his other three volumes in the series.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.